Uruguay

Oh, the beauty of simplicity.
We came to Argentina on 3 month/ 90 day visas and in order to renew a visa all you have to do is leave the country. So last week Jen took us (STMs) to Uruguay which is right across from Argentina on the Rio de Plata. We spent 3 nights in the city of Colonia for a retreat taking time and making space to rejuvinate ourselves and spending some quality team time together outside of the city. You may recall my retellings of our last retreat when we went to Mendoza with Jer. It's interesting how different this retreat was- no mountains to climb, no precarious railroad bridges to cross, no hitch-hiking- and yet this second retreat, with it's stark differences, was just as revitalizing, exciting, and bonding. The weather was perfect, our aparment was quant, the town was simple and old enough to feel its extensive history, the people, that is the people I spent time with, are stellar, and it was freaking Uruguay! Perhaps going into detail about each day would bore you so I'll just list highly remembered moments and I am hopeful that you can at least experience a ting of the simplistic beauty that I felt in full force.
A campfire on the beach at night; sleeping in; dinners in the apartment; guitar on the balcony; playing Settlers of Catan (highlight!)or cards late into the night/ morning; bikeride around Colonia to the beach and through a park; watching the sunset's ascent into the water ; skipping rocks; dinner and live flamenco music; swing dancing and deep conversation on the roof, watching the moon set and falling stars make grand streaks across the night sky; beach time swimming in slightly less than comfortably frigid water (¨this is a river?!¨), conversations lounging in the sand; walking through town; and getting stamp number 2 in my passport.
Friday after returning from Uruguay and resting a bit Matt and I borrowed the Dean's bike and biked to the Ecological Reserve in Costanera Sur but not before getting some of the best Empanadas I've had here yet (I didn't think I'd miss empanadas until I ate these). We tried to go to the reserve earlier in the term when we took a bike ride on a rainy day but the park was closed, so I was excited to be able to finally go and ride through the reserve and sit by the river water. It's definitely a place I want to hit up again before we leave.
On Saturday, after spending a majority of the day sitting in the middle of the Feria at Recoleta getting my long awaited dreads started, we trekked all over the city for the annual La Noche de los Museos where all the museums in the city are open free to the public from 9pm-2am. It was a rare occasion to hang out with both Jen and Jer outside of their home while Jen's parents who were visiting watched the Dean kids. We first went to the Tango Museum and heard a couple guitarists play, then attempted to go to the congress house only to be let down b a long line to enter. So we headed to Palermo to see a Tango show. Buenos Aires if known for any one thing, is know for it's Tango, so this was an important experience for us to have. And was it! I was in awe to see such passion and talent taking place on stage. It is a riveting style of dance. We again were let down by the long line at the science museum (sorry, Jason) so we made our last stop at the Museum of Latin American Art.
As I wrap up this post I should maybe insert some deep thought reflecting on these past couple weeks. But all I have to say is
oh, the beauty of simplicity.

tres meses pasado

Almost three months ago I first walked the streets of Buenos Aires on a chilly grey day. I observed the many foreign signs marking stores, restaurants, street ads, and bus stops and wondered how I would navigate the city for the next four months with my little knowledge of the language. I began meeting people, first my fellow STMs Matt and Amanda, then Jen and Jer at the Aeropuerto in Buenos Aires, others living at the church- our new home, then the Forcattos, Jason, Dave, church goers, all who have become a part of my community and life here over the course of time.
I remember going to Retiro for the first time meeting Word Made Flesh friends and sitting on the station floor or outside with those selling papers sharing Mate (timidly for myself) for the first time. I remember meeting Mary and her family of 5 for the first time, she was timid as were her children as they interacted with me. Now when I see Mary at various gatherings she is not reluctant to hand off her one year old son to me, which I beleive reveals a closer and more bonded level of friendships, she trusts me with her children, and her children call me by name when they want me to play with them.
I can look back and vividly remember first helping with tutoring at the chuch for Apoyo Escolar and our first time teaching english to kids in Bajo Flores at the Methodist church. "How am I going to relate to these people? How will I pass two hours sitting here while conversation in spanish flies above my head? How am I going to teach these kids english?" are frequent thoughts that ran through my head.
We're more than half way through our time here and time is only flying rapidly by as December approaches. The streets have their familiarity to them, even the signs scattered about have become the norm for me to look at. I can navigate the subte and colectivos (transportation here) with ease- though often with the help of the Guia (guide booklet).People who were just acquantances have become friends and have brought a sense of familial community, especially within our Word Made Flesh community.
Community has been a major and quite influential aspect of life here. And my previous perception and romanticized outlook on community has been rocked, for the better mind you. It presents its many frustrations, frustrations that I have had to take to God and in turn ask for strength and love, I have had to choose love. We bare our naked inner selves even when we don't mean to. But community, I have experienced, always reveals in the forefront a redemptive beauty, beauty of individuals coming together, learning from one another, and doing life together.
The other day we ran into a friend who frequently attends Sunday service and afterwards enjoys a free meal with other men in the Comedor, an escape from life on the streets. We joined him as he sat on Montes De Oca Ave. and shared mate and conversation with him. While sitting with him one of the girls who usually comes to Apoyo Escolar for after-school tutoring passed by and ran up to us for a brief greeting. Other times I have run into kids from Apoyo Escolar when going to the store or walking the streets in Barracas. These are experienced when being a part of community.
Today when at Retiro I found that time went by too quickly. I enjoyed playing Uno and jacks using rocks, drinking mate (voluntarily), and attempting at conversation with the mother of the 5-month old baby I was holding. I don't mind so much sitting on a dirty train station floor sharing mate with friends with conversations in spanish buzzing by above my head. I don't mind so much exhausting myself playing with little kids; dirty hands grabbing for my attention, soiled bottoms sitting on my lap, taking hits from uncontrolled play. I don't mind dancing with my new, and in that moment smiling and laughing, friends in the train station to the music being played from a nearby kiosco. While the community at Retiro is often chaotic and brings the unexpected it brings also an unmatched beauty, being in relationship with these differing individuals. I came here to give of myself, to desperately hope to be God's light in ministry, and I'm finding that these individuals are giving to me more than they might know.
Many aspects of life here, some that I have already mentioned and some unmentioned ones that grind me daily, could deter me from having an enjoyable experience, the spoiled westerner that I am. And certainly many things have taken practice in getting used to. I have been stretched and challenged, pulled out of my comfort zone and adapted to a different way of life. But the more I experience the absence of luxuries and comforts the more I am able to bear, the more perspective I gain, the more I am able to see God, find beauty, learn tolerance, and experience growth as I kick my pride to the curb.